growing pains
by bubblegum shaved ice
Summary: HaruRen. Never did anyone imagine that it would be Ren's past that caught up first.


**note.**

The severe lack of English fanfiction for this amazing series has come to my attention. Since it's still ongoing, this will be AU around the 20s onwards (according to the manga chapters). There will also be OCs as I'll be developing the 'blank space' during the time Haru and Ren were apart as well as Ren's time in the orphanage. There will NOT be any OC pairings.

I have no idea what I'm going to write in terms of sexual content so far, so warnings are covering everything. You've been warned.  
Please do not read if the following tags offend you:  
 _Yaoi. Incest. Sex (all types - masturbation, fingering, oral, anal, loss of virginity, con, dub-con, non-con; literally anything goes)_. _Kinks. Shota (kind of)._

 **Disclaimer:** Super Lovers and its subsequent characters are not mine. The series belongs to the amazing Miyuki Abe.

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 **Growing Pains**

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 **one.**

 **café latte**

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..

"Ren! Dinner's ready." That voice.

 _Haru. Haru. Haru._

Why was it that he only had to hear that stupid voice to make his mind and body stop listening? How did Haru create this storm in his head? Haru made him a child. One that lost focus to everything but what he craved. And it made him mad as he realised how powerless he was.

Borrowing himself beneath the down duvet, Ren dug his face into the pillow, hopeful that Haru would believe that he was asleep. Plum rain was in full spin and he felt lugged and drowsy anyway. He wasn't in any mood to see the eldest at the moment. Not after seeing the idiot let some women with black roots peaking through bleached hair kiss him at the cafe.

The door creaked open and light from the corridor peeked in. "Ren?"

Ever since Haru had removed the lock on his door, it seemed that pretending to be asleep was the only way he could get some peace and quiet away from him - and even then, if Haru caught on to the fact that he was only pretending, the amount of nagging was infinite.

The teen tried to force his breathing to slow down. Inhaling, and releasing each gentle puff with practiced ease. He's seen enough people fall asleep before him to know what regular sleeping patterns look like.

 _Four... Seven... Eight..._

"Ren. Stop pretending. Come eat dinner." The wild outside lingered in him and the wolf in him merely slept - his habits were too easy for Haru to see through. Feathered protection stripped from him, Ren clutched at the plush pillow, refusing to budge.

"No. I'm tired." He mumbled.

Sensing that the scene from earlier in the day had bothered Ren, Haru climbed on top of Ren to capture the boy in his arms, resting him on his lap over crossed legs as he nuzzled tousled dark hair. "I pushed her away straight after, you know?"

"I know. I saw."

Knowing didn't help.

It wasn't the fact that Haru got kissed that bothered Ren. It was the fact that the woman who surprised his older brother was able to so openly - to be able to kiss Haru out in the open even if they didn't have any relationship - that made him tick.

Things that he could change didn't bother Ren - it was the things that were out of his power that bothered him.

It was a constant reminder of what Kiyoka and Akira said. That he was a boy. That Haru was his brother. And that in the eyes of society, being together would be taboo. Worst was, what Haru wanted is a child to dote upon. And brother to take care of - Haru wanted a family to love. So he couldn't - wouldn't - change anything, because it is what Haru wants. And even if he didn't want to be either, he will force himself to accept what Haru wants.

Climbing up to circle his arms around his neck, Ren took in the familiar scent, releasing the breath he was holding against smooth skin. "I want to kiss you."

"Is that all you want?" Haru pecked him over his lips as Ren shook his head, tickling the sensitive skin around the eldest's neck.

He wanted to bury himself in his embrace and to be spoiled. He wanted to mark his presence on Haru so that no one would come near him; but the blond didn't seem to notice anything out of ordinarily as he petted Ren affectionately. The calculating stare Ren wore was an expression he encountered all too often.

"Come, let's have dinner now. Aki and Shima are waiting."

xxx

"Ren, do you mind taking over my shift at the cafe tomorrow? I have a tutoring job to cover with Ai-chan." Shima dropped a piece of meat into Ren's bowl as he conveyed his request. Not really as a bribe, but spoiling the youngest tended to get him to drop his guard momentarily.

"I don't mind." Ren accepted as he took a bite, slowly savouring the chewy sweetness of koshihikari melding with the umami of nikujaga. "I might be a bit late though, the teachers said to meet them after classes tomorrow."

Haru blanched as he remembered the strict homeroom teacher who had vehemently questioned what he intended for Ren to do after graduation. "You didn't get in trouble did you?"

"No." Ren continued chewing until his mouth was empty to answer. "Something about being a guide for another kikokushijo."

His face was schooled in uninterested blankness until he saw the sparkles in Haru's eyes, positively glowing at the idea that Ren had integrated himself well enough to be considered a guide for someone else. The grim line of his face promptly turning into an annoyed scowl.

"You?" Aki laughed. "But you can't even get pass the JR gates without feeling queasy! I bet they just couldn't find someone to accept it and you were just caught at the wrong place at the wrong time."

Feeling anger rise in him, Ren's competitiveness was piqued as he picked up the last piece of beef just to spite his meat-loving brother. He didn't need looking after and was more than capable of being help to someone else! "Over 10'000 students return to Japan each year. You think that they would have chosen me as last resort?"

Haru and Shima choked in mirth. "He's got you there."

"Besides, Mikiko-san was apparently the one that introduced them to Souryo Koukou, so she might have mentioned me in the passing." He knew that it was probably the true reason anyway. Mikiko and Haruko had a lot of influence over people, though he had no idea why they did so.

Reminded of the dominating power Mikiko had as a trustee of the school brought about memories of what Enomoto said when they first met about how he got his scholarship and he promptly lost his appetite when he saw Haru's concerned face. He knew that Haru was normally sceptic whenever his mother's friend was involved, and Ren didn't blame him; but _he_ was usually the source of Ren's troubles instead of the lawyer.

What's worse was that while Haruko and Mikiko plainly exercised their power and control, Haru didn't even know of his hold over Ren.

"Gochisousama deshita." He stood to push in his chair after placing his chopsticks at the side of the plate. "I'm going up to go clean up."

Taking a bath right after dinner wasn't good for the body, but he may as well be the one the start the water for the rest of them since he used the least water. Something about the way Haru was looking at him also bothered him greatly and he begged to just be alone for awhile.

Pouring cool water over himself to calm the heat caused by summer, the boy took a moment to recollect his thoughts. _If Haru worries so much about what others can do to me, he should be more aware of his own actions._

Climbing into the bed, Ren waited for Haru to join him as he made a mental note to himself that he would keep an eye on his older brother the next day at work. He promised himself that there would be no more kissing from anyone on his watch as he draped his tired body over the one he loved, only to be promptly flipped over and wrapped by a much sturdier and heavier body.

"Ren, I'm sorry about earlier. It won't happen again."

He nodded against Haru's chest. "Mmm." _I know. I won't let it happen again._ He wouldn't be an idiot that only locked up the stables after the steeds have run.

This easy forgiveness Ren allowed him almost made him regret not apologising earlier. But Haru couldn't help it! In front of others, his younger lover was usually so stoic. _But with me, he becomes so adorable that it makes me want to tease him and make him cry for me._

"Hey, close your eyes for a moment."

"Why?" Ren snapped his eyes open for good measure to coerce an answer out of his partner.

"Close your eyes." Haru whispered as he inched his mouth towards Ren's neck, nipping gently at the tender skin and leaving it to redden before letting his lips rest at sensitive corner of the boy's mouth. Skilfully letting his hand stray down the elasticated waist band on Ren's trousers, his mouth hovered millimetres above another set of lips. "I'll feel like I forced it on you if you keep your eyes open."

xxx

"REN!" Juuzen shouted across the classroom as he tore open the sliding doors with unexpected force to break his friend out of his daydream. "You won't believe what just happened!"

"What?"

Kurosaki Juuzen raised an untamed eyebrow, letting it merge with his thinned bangs. "Can't you at least pretend to be a bit more interested when I tell you something?"

Dark eyes blinked slowly as they re-calibrated to focus on the animated teenager but Ren's expression remained blank as he prepared himself for another raving session on his baby sister.

"It's a girl!"

"I know." He sighed, looking back down as he brainstormed what to write next for his diary entry.

He'd already written about going to the zoo with Haru to see tanuki... Going to the grocery store for ramen with Aki... Juuzen's baby sister... Haruko's way-too-short visit... Even the new tool to measure polarization of light...

Writing about magnetic domain memory might be a good idea next, but he isn't sure about some terms in Japanese and he really doesn't want to trouble Haruko...

"You know?" Juuzen looked conflicted at the discovery. Why hadn't he said anything then?

"You've updated me about your sister's every moment each day since she was born." The first photo. The first time she gripped his finger. The first time she drank milk. The first time she used a nappy. The first time she wore blue- or pink- or white- or yellow- _Everything_.

"It's not my sister! There's a girl in the boy's building and it's not Kiri!"

A girl on the boy's side. That was abnormal. And still not nearly as important as his failing Japanese literature grade. "Oh."

"Oh? OH? You're too calm, you old man! I guess having a lover really makes a difference. But you have to understand that to us poor single souls living in a boy's dorm, seeing a girl is really difficult sometimes." Holding back his tongue, Ren chastised himself for almost forgetting that despite the fact that the dining hall was shared, Juuzen rarely ate in the cafeteria where the food was notoriously overpriced in order to save money.

"They said that she's here so that they could pair a guide for her. Why do you think they came over to the boys side?" He questioned. "Do you think maybe she doesn't get along with the other girls?"

 _Guide?_ "Ah." Ren stood up. "No. I almost forgot."

His friend scratched the back of his head through strands of sandy hair. "Ren? You're not making sense again."

The bell rang to signify the end of class and Ren stuffed the textbooks into his bag as he headed for the teacher's office. "Thanks for reminding me, Juuzen. I'll treat you to tempura tomorrow." Tuesdays meant tempura bento since it was the special as the café and the dark haired boy was well aware that Juuzen had a particular preference for it if the consistency of him stealing his lunch was anything to go by.

"I don't mind tempura. But Ren, I really don't get what you're saying."

"I'm her guide."

He nodded. "Ah. That makes sense now." Checking that Ren hadn't left anything behind as he left in a hurry, Juuzen grabbed his own books, heading down the stairs.

He was about to swap his indoor shoes for his outdoor ones as he registered what his best friend had just told him. "Heh? EHHH!?"

Kaidou Ren owed him way more than simply fried shrimp tomorrow.

xxx

Opening the door to the teachers', Ren studied the girl before him. If he saw her on the streets, he definitely wouldn't expect her to be in the same year as him. He knew that he wasn't particularly tall compared to Haru or Shima, but the girl before him...

If anyone told him to describe her, it would be 'small'. Like a pocket-sized chihuahua. As if to complete the comparison, red string held her hair with a bell attached to the ends, similar to what he had tied to Tanuki's collar. She could probably pass off as a middle schooler for bus fares if she so wanted.

And if Haru asked him to describe her - he would say that she looked a reflection of the girl from the DVD, just with longer hair. She was slim, with round eyes, and a baby face complete with cupid's bow lips.

"Kaidou Ren." He introduced himself. Pausing. Before holding out his hand. Just as Haru taught him to do when meeting someone new.

The girl also seemed to pause as well, taking step back when he held out his hand, she stared at it for a moment before introducing herself. "Mari, Amegashi Mari. We're both kaigaishijo right? We should get along, Ren-kun."

She bowed before taking his hand, and he noticed that despite not having been in Japan, her pronunciation was likely better than his. Her 'r's and vowels clearer than his own. There was a certain strangeness to her. She had skipped from calling him 'Kaidou' straight to 'Ren', and her speech patterns were definitely that of a kikokushijo, but her actions weren't.

Briefly glancing back at her face, Ren realized that there was a look about her he didn't like. The one women had on when they knew something that you didn't. A smug competence they probably were not even aware of. It wasn't that he distrusted her just from that - because Haruko often wore it. Mikiko even more. But something just seemed _off_.

Amegashi Mari was the epitome of everything he didn't trust and didn't like. Her voice too sweet and gentle. Actions overly nice without reason. A feminine aura surrounded her - one he knew not of how to deal with. She was scary. And yet, his every instinct was telling him to lower his guard around her.

"I've heard from the teachers that your family runs a café, would you mind showing me? I still haven't been able to learn my way around the neighbourhood". She smiled. Faint. Polite. Hiding. "The girls also mentioned that you have a very good looking family."

 _No._ Ren thought. He definitely did not like her.

xxx

"Anything you want Mari-chan? It'll be on the house." Haru smiled at the girl his younger brother was to take care of, thanking the lords that she wasn't like Kiri. If anything, she seemed the polar opposite, an interesting contrast that seemed to make the Kaidou's youngest adorably uncomfortable.

It wasn't that he didn't like Kondou Kiri - because anyone Ren approved - he will unconditionally accept, but Kiri sometimes reminded him a bit too much of his mother. From her no-nonsense character to their almost rough handling of Ren, the girl was even beginning to mirror that woman's statuesque figure. Haru shivered at the thought of another Haruko. A third would undoubtedly be overkill.

It didn't help to know how Ren was completely smitten for Haruko. And if there was one person he didn't enjoy being jealous of, it was his mother.

Scanning the menu, the tiny thing that sat across his little brother picked the first beverage of the list. "Um. I'll have a iced chocolate please." Looking between Haru and Ren, if she noticed the anything between them, she purposefully left it unsaid.

"One iced chocolate coming up." Haru swung the tall glass they usually reserved for sundaes out of the cupboard as he prepared to add cream and marshmallows on top of the order for Ren's friend. "Chocolate for you too, Ren?"

He was about to pour the remaining mix from the blender into another glass when Ren answered. "Café latte." The acute accent pronounced immaculately.

"Huh?" Blond hair swung in rapid motion as Haru turned sharply, thinking he had heard the wrong order.

Ren usually sorted the beans, but as far as he knew, the sixteen year old never drank coffee - thinking it far too bitter. It had been a running joke in the household that Ren had the tastebuds of a child. Or a teenage girl. Always preferring sweet things, prioritising it above anything else, hence his preference for starchy rice.

But this -

"I want a cold café latte." His lover's gaze as determined as always.

"Ri-right." _Cold._ _He wouldn't be able to add sugar then._

It was completely unexpected. And Haru isn't quite sure he likes this new development.


End file.
